Capital Square Partners (CSP) and Basil Technology Partners (BTP) (collectively the GP or the team), two Singapore-based private equity firms, announced Thursday a new partnership and the successful close of a about $700 million fund (CSP Fund II).
In likely a first-of-its-kind transaction in Asia, CSP Fund II raised capital from funds managed by HarbourVest Partners, TPG NewQuest and Committed Advisors, as well as other institutional investors, to acquire a portfolio of companies from the GP’s existing funds under management as well as provide the enlarged platform with capital for follow-ons and new investments, CSP said in a statement.
The team will operate under the existing CSP platform as it looks to build on a successful track-record of investing in global technology services companies.
HarbourVest and TPG NewQuest co-led the deal. HarbourVest led the structuring of the transaction.
The Transaction is believed to have established one of the largest technology services dedicated funds in Asia and the combination of the teams at CSP and BTP will significantly augment the platform’s execution capabilities.
The team consists of Sanjay Chakrabarty, Rajeev Srivastava, Mukesh Sharda, Bharat Rao (Non-Executive Director), and Sameer Kanwar.
Over the past decade, the team has managed in excess of $1.3 billion in asset under management (AUM) and has operated and exited multiple companies in the technology services space, including Minacs, Indecomm and GAVS Technologies.
“We are excited to be joined by the BTP team in building a leading regional technology investment platform, focused on leveraging our expertise in technology services and the emerging software as a service (SaaS), artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics and digital sub-sectors,
“We believe these sectors will continue to show strength and resilience through economic cycles, and yield compelling investment opportunities for CSP Fund II. We look forward to our continued partnerships with best-in-class founders and companies,” said Sanjay Chakrabarty, Partner of CSP.
Rajeev Srivastava, Partner added :“We are thrilled to be growing our capabilities under the CSP platform and appreciate the guidance from UBS in structuring this highly complex transaction.”
“We are grateful for having HarbourVest as a capital partner as we embark on a new phase of growth for our portfolio companies and appreciate the strong endorsement from TPG NewQuest and Committed Advisors. We look forward to executing on an exciting pipeline of opportunities with CSP Fund II,” he added.
UBS Private Funds Group advised on the transaction. Dechert was legal advisor to CSP and the fund while Debevoise & Plimpton advised the investors.
Founded in 2014 and based in Singapore, CSP is a private equity firm investing across technology and business services across Southeast Asia and India.
Since its inception, the firm has completed over $500 million of investments in cross-border businesses with multinational operations, adopting a value-oriented investing style focused on complex situations that require operational intervention.
CSP holds a capital markets license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, as per the Securities and Futures Act of the Government of Singapore.
Founded in 2008 and based in Singapore, BTP is a private equity firm investing in niche technologies that are disrupting the information technology (IT) services space.
With a core operating team representing an aggregate of over 70 years of experience in running IT service businesses, BTP has completed investments of over $200 million with a focus on growth stage technology companies, mostly working with founder-led management teams on a proprietary basis to create off-market transactions at attractive entry multiples.